Rafael Pineda Ponce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rafael Pineda Ponce
President of the National Congress of Honduras
Born	(1930-08-18)August 18, 1930 San Miguelito, Intibucá,
Died	January 24, 2014(2014-01-24) (aged 83) Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.
Nationality	Honduran
Education	Brazil Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira, São Paulo
Occupation	Professor and politician
Political party	Liberal Party of Honduras
Spouse(s)	María Lidia Espinoza
Children	Alicia Pineda Espinoza, Rafael Pineda Espinoza, Octavio Pineda Espinoza, Mario Pineda Espinoza.
Parent(s)	Juan R. Pineda and María Ponce

Rafael Pineda Ponce (born August 18, 1930 – died January 24, 2014) was an important teacher and politician from Honduras. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras and served as the President of the National Congress of Honduras from 1998 to 2002.

Early Life and Education

Rafael Pineda Ponce was born on August 18, 1930. His parents were Juan Rafael Pineda López and María Ponce. He was born in a small house built by his grandparents in a place called San Miguelito, in the Intibuca area. He lived there for his first six years.

Rafael had an older sister named Consuelo and two younger brothers, Rafael and Carlos. Sadly, his brother Carlos died when he was young.

When Rafael was six, his mother, María Ponce, moved back to her childhood home in Guatemala with her family. She passed away soon after. After their mother left, Rafael and his siblings went to live with relatives.

School Days and Learning

Rafael first went to the city of La Esperanza, Intibucá. Later, he and his sister Consuelo lived with their uncle, Filadelfo López Morales, in the village of Villa de Cofradía.

Rafael finished his elementary school education by attending three different schools. His teachers always thought highly of him. He started high school at the Instituto Departamental de Occidente. He then moved to the Escuela Normal de Varones in Tegucigalpa. Here, he earned a certificate to become a primary school teacher. He later earned a Bachelor of Science and Letters from the Instituto José Trinidad Reyes in San Pedro Sula.

While in high school, Rafael was chosen as the President of the Procultural Society. This was a very respected position for a student. When he graduated, he received the Father Trino Gold Medal. This award was given to the most outstanding high school student.

In 1965, Pineda Ponce traveled to São Paulo, Brazil. He went to the Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira to learn more about training teachers. This experience allowed him to meet many famous educators from Latin America. He became known as a great writer and speaker in Honduras.

Family Life

Rafael Pineda Ponce was married to María Lidia Espinoza. They had four children together: Alicia, Rafael, Octavio, and Mario Pineda Espinoza.

Political Career

Rafael Pineda Ponce was a member of the Liberal Party of Honduras. In 1980, he became the Secretary in the Ministry of Public Education. This was during the temporary government of Policarpo Paz García.

Pineda Ponce was a key thinker for the Liberal Party. He encouraged many people to run for office after Honduras became a democracy again in 1980. He also helped create many important laws, including:

• Laws about childhood and adolescence.
• Rules for Honduran teachers.
• The creation of voluntary military service.
• Giving public employees a fourteenth month of salary.
• Laws about banking and insurance.
• Laws to help promote production and protect coffee farmers.
• Changes to the law for the electric sector.
• Increasing money for the Family Allowances Program (PRAF).
• Changes to the constitution to create the National Police.
• New laws for criminal cases.
• Making the Commissioner of Human Rights a constitutional position.
• Laws about police, concessions, and tourism.

Leading the National Congress

On November 30, 1997, after the general elections in Honduras, Carlos Roberto Flores won the presidential election. Pineda Ponce was then chosen to be the president of the National Congress of Honduras. He held this important position from 1998 to 2002.

In the next election, Pineda Ponce was chosen to be the Liberal Party's candidate for president. However, in the general elections on November 25, 2001, he lost to Ricardo Maduro, the candidate from the National Party of Honduras.

Later Political Roles

Pineda Ponce tried to run for president again in 2004. But he later supported Manuel Zelaya's campaign when Zelaya became the Liberal Party candidate in 2005.

After the election, Pineda Ponce served as the Minister of Education in Zelaya's government from 2006 to 2007. During this time, he helped restart the normal school system. This system trains teachers and had been stopped by the previous government. This was done to help with the shortage of teachers, especially for young children who needed access to kindergarten and preparatory education.

After about 17 months, Pineda Ponce felt he could no longer work effectively in the Zelaya government, so he resigned. In an interview in 2008, he said that the government "had no direction or goals."

Later Life and Passing

Pineda Ponce retired from government in 2007. However, he temporarily returned to serve as Minister of the Presidency in the temporary government of Roberto Micheletti. This government was formed after Manuel Zelaya was removed from power during the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.

In a 2010 interview, he said that the Liberal Party leaders needed to unite to regain power and "defend democracy." However, some followers of Zelaya formed a new party called Libre Party. After the opposing National Party took control of both the presidency and congress, Pineda Ponce questioned how productive the new government was. He noted that much of their new laws went against the constitution.

During this time, Pineda Ponce created the phrase "tilín, tilín." This phrase is now used in Honduran politics to talk about politicians who might change their principles or party loyalty for money.

After an illness, Pineda Ponce left public life. The Congress voted to provide financial help to their former leader. Rafael Pineda Ponce passed away on January 24, 2014.

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